MH370: poor conditions hamper search for debris in Indian Ocean
Norwegian vessel has reached area but has yet to locate items detected in images captured four days ago
Poor visibility is hampering the hunt in the southern Indian Ocean for possible debris from the missing Malaysia Airlines flight spotted on satellite imagery, officials warned on Thursday, as military aircraft and ships raced to the scene.
Malaysia's transport minister described the pictures, which showed objects estimated to be between five to 24 metres (16 to 79ft) long, as a credible lead in the 12-day search for flight MH370 and said work would continue overnight.
Australian and US aircraft dispatched to the area – around 2,500km (1,500 miles) south-west of Perth – did not locate the items, which were detected in images captured four days ago, and search operations ended as night fell on the region. The captain of the first Australian air force AP-3C Orion plane to return from the search area described the weather conditions as extremely bad, with rough seas and high winds, and said there was no sign of any objects. A US Poseidon P-8 aircraft also drew a blank, American media reported.
A Norwegian commercial vessel diverted its journey from Madagascar to Melbourne and has now reached the area, and three more Australian aircraft were on their way to the scene. Aerial searches will resume on Friday, according to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority.
Despite the inconclusive results of Thursday's search, Australia's prime minister, Tony Abbott – who revealed the satellite image analysis earlier on Thursday – said that the discovery could be a major breakthrough.
Satellite images of the two objects spotted. Photograph: /AMSA
"We don't know what that satellite saw until we can get a much better, much closer look at it but this is the first tangible breakthrough in what up till now has been an utterly baffling mystery," Abbott said.
But the Australian defence minister, David Johnston, appeared more circumspect. "Expectations will obviously be built. I want to say that let's just be patient and try and find out what this satellite reference is," Johnston told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
"[The southern Indian Ocean] is an extraordinarily remote part of the world … This is a very difficult logistical problem. We're several days away, I think, from really having an idea of the credibility and veracity of this report."
Asked if he thought this was the best lead in the search so far, Johnston said: "Well, there's been several 'best leads' along the way. It's almost a fortnight since this aircraft went off the radar. I think this is a potentially credible sighting that must be investigated but let's just not get our hopes up. There's a lot of debris in the water out there. It's a very long way away.".
Prof Alexander Babanin, director of the Centre for Ocean Engineering, Science and Technology at Swinburne University of Technology in Australia, said that the search was taking place in an area of deep ocean and strong currents, where waves can reach up to six metres in stormy weather.
He noted that floating debris could have been carried 100km away from their position in the satellite photographs, an estimate based on looking at average conditions.
Fragments could be spread over 50km or so, and material suspended beneath the surface could be carried perhaps even further, because ocean currents can be stronger than wave-induced currents, he said.
The search for the Boeing 777 has drawn in assets and expertise from 26 countries. The Royal Australian Navy ship HMAS Success is expected to arrive in the search area within a few days and the Ministry of Defence confirmed that the UK was sending HMS Echo, a coastal survey ship.
On Wednesday, Barack Obama said finding out what happened to the Beijing-bound flight was a top priority for the United States, adding: "It's a big piece of planet that we're searching and sometimes these things take time, but we hope and pray that we can get to the bottom of what happened."
MH370 vanished shortly after taking off from Kuala Lumpur early on 8 March with 239 people on board. Officials have said they believe it was deliberately diverted from its route to Beijing, but have not ruled out a catastrophic event.
Hishammuddin Hussein, Malaysia's transport minister, said of the possible debris: "Any leads that we receive must be corroborated and verified, because if found false not only will it jeopardise our search but it will give false hope to the families."
He said the search was continuing in both the northern and southern search arcs delineated by analysis of satellite data, which sweep north to Kazakhstan and down to the southern Indian Ocean, across 2.24m square nautical miles of land and sea.
Hishammuddin said he regretted the forcible removal of Chinese family members angry at the lack of information from Wednesday's press conference.
More than 150 Chinese nationals were on board MH370 when it vanished. In Beijing, foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said Chinawas paying great attention to the news and authorities dispatched extra medical staff and police to the hotel where families have been waiting.
Paul Yin, a psychologist who has been supporting the families, said: "The hardest thing for the relatives is the long term uncertainty. It tortures them … After the first five to six days, some of the relatives started to accept it, but some of them still hold out hope."
He said that he and other volunteers were trying to prepare the families for the outburst of emotion inevitable if the potential sighting of wreckage is confirmed.
Bimal Sharma, whose sister Chandrika was on board, told the BBC: "I want to believe she is still alive and will be home for her birthday on 30 of March."
When Air France flight 447 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean in 2009 the first pieces of debris were spotted within a few days, but most of the wreckage and the "black box" flight data and cockpit recorders were not found until almost two years later.
But David Gallo of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, who co-led the search for that aircraft, said that the hunt for MH370 need not be so protracted.
He pointed out that in all his team spent only around 10 weeks at sea over that period and initial modelling had led searchers to initially look in the wrong place.
"We know a lot more after Air France than we did then," he added.
The cockpit voice recorder records only the last two hours of audio before a plane crash, while in the case of MH370, the plane may have flown for hours after the critical events took place.
"But there will be other clues, if the plane is treated as a crime scene. We never know what we will find," said Gallo.
"There should be other things that could give a clue as to what has gone on – the cockpit itself; whatever position the pieces are in; the surface flaps and landing gear. We have the capability now of doing a very detailed forensic study of a wreck in deep water."
He added: "In a sense we are hoping this is the plane – it means finally the mystery comes to a close, or at least half way there.
"But on the other hand, we don't because it takes away the hope some families have that someone may still be alive."
Charitha Pattiaratchi, a professor of oceanography at the University of Western Australia, told Reuters that the search area covered an ocean ridge known as Naturalist Plateau, a large sea shelf about 3,500 metres (9,800ft) deep. The plateau is about 250km (150 miles) wide by 400km (250 miles) long, and the area around it is close to 5,000 metres (16,400 feet) deep.
"Whichever way you go, it's deep," he said
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